The effects of background music on long-term memo SherileneCarr,NikkiRickard;MonashUniversity,Australiasherilene.carr@med.monash.edu.auThefacilitatoryeffectofmoderateemotionalarousalonmemoryisrobustandhasbeenattributedtothenoradrenergicneuromodulatorysystem(Cahilletal.,1994).However,itisquestionablewhetherthismeansofmemoryenhancementcanbeutilizedtherapeuticallyasthesourceofemotionalarousal(suchasimagesofhumantraumaaccompaniedbytragicstories)hastypicallybeenintrinsictothematerialtoberemembered.Theuseofemotion‐ inducingmusicasanextraneoussourceofarousalwithinthisparadigmisasyetuntested.Musicoffersmorepromisethanothersourcesofextraneousarousal(suchasexerciseorglucose)asithasthepotentialtoinfuseaffectintootherwiseneutralmaterial,asoccurswithfilmsoundtracks.Inthecurrentstudy,negativelyvalentmusic(HolstsMars,theBringerofWarfromThePlanets)wasplayedinthebackgroundto9participantsastheywatchedaslideshowcontainingIAPSimagesandaneutralnarrative.Oneweeklater,asurpriserecognitionmemorytestfortheimageswasconductedandmemorywascomparedtotwoadditionalgroups(9participantsineach)whoviewedthesameslideshow,witheitherneutral(SatiesGymnopediesNo1,orchestral)ornobackgroundmusic.Plannedcomparisonsbetweenthemusicconditionsandtheno‐musiccontrolrevealedrecalloftheslideshowimageswasbetterforparticipantswhoheardneutralbackgroundmusic.Thefailuretodetectanychangesinphysiologicalorselfreportmeasuresofarousalindicatedthenegativemusicdidnothavetheintendedarousingeffect.Theenhancingeffectofneutralmusiconlong‐termmemorywasnotpredicted;howeveritispossiblethatenjoymentmediatedthiseffect(Schellenbergandcolleagues),astheneutralmusicwasenjoyedsignificantlymorethanthenegativemusic.Oneofthelimitationsofthisexperimentwaslowexperimentalpower.Nevertheless,futureresearchaimstopursuethemusicinducedenjoymenthypothesisonlong‐termmemoryperformance.